


She loves me

by Dangerlove12



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-12 06:50:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4469426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dangerlove12/pseuds/Dangerlove12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>because of this</p>
<p>consider: the “i work at a movie theatre and i’m cleaning up after the movie is over and you’re the only person left because you’re ugly crying with popcorn over your lap” AU </p>
<p>swan queen. abuse tw, not overt but be careful. also what even is this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She loves me

Working at the movie theater wasn’t the worst job in the world but cleaning up popcorn and soda and shit definitely wasn’t on the list of Emma Swan’s favorite things to do on a Saturday night.

(But she has to get out of the house.)

Especially in the dark.

Dammit, the lights aren’t working again.

But that’s no excuse for Emma, apparently. She agrees “the only way you’ll get paid is if you do your work” cause you gotta earn your keep but this is fucking ridiculous. How’s she supposed to clean if she can’t see all the shit?

She pulls out her flip phone (don’t judge, it’s the only one she could afford) to light her way. She struggles to sweep all the candy and broken toy bits and straws from juice boxes (kids’ movie are the worst) and finally decides to hold part of the phone in her mouth. She’s got a pretty good rhythm going when she hears sniffling.

“Hewwo?” She rolls her eyes at herself. Takes the phone out of her mouth and tries again: “Hello?”

There’s no answer. She waits, but hears nothing. Must’ve been her imagination. She shrugs, puts her phone back in her mouth and keeps sweeping, until she gets to the back row.

Sitting in the corner is….Regina Mills.

Student body president. Drama department head. Drop dead gorgeous ‘bitch’. Rumored to have no heart and constantly on the prowl to steal everyone else’s to replace her own.

Regina “Evil Queen” Mills.

In a theater. By herself. After watching Tangled. With popcorn spread all over her lap. Crying like no one is watching.

Which, you’d think would get Emma to turn around, but her foster dad always tells her she’s no one and she’s starting to believe it, so she thinks it’s okay to look for a second.

“…Regina?”

The noise stops almost instantly as Regina straightens up and looks at Emma.

“Would you mind getting that blinding light out of my face?”

Judging by her controlled tone, if Emma hadn’t heard her crying a minute ago, if she didn’t see the tear streaks on Regina’s cheeks, Emma would’ve sworn she made this all up.

She mumbles an apology as she turns off her phone’s light. It’s still dark but she can see Regina pretty okay.

“Umm…Are you okay?” 

Even in the dark, Emma knows Regina’s rolling her eyes. “Peachy.”

When Emma doesn’t move to leave, she continues: “I just needed some time to myself.”

“So you picked a movie for eight year olds?” 

“If I had known I’d need to answer to the town’s teenage miscreant, I would’ve saved myself the money and the trouble.”

Emma knows that this is probably Regina’s way of getting her to leave, but she’s had worse. This is nothing. And Regina looked too sad to leave her like that. Emma kinda thinks she’ll fall apart as soon as Emma stops watching. So she doesn’t stop watching.

She leans against her broom and whistles: “Queen of Breaking Hearts watching Tangled. Man, Ruby and August will never believe this.”

Regina stiffens again, but somehow worse than last time. “You can’t tell anyone about this.” The look in Regina’s eyes is too familiar. She’s not scared of rumors. It must be something bigger.

Emma sobers up. “What are you afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid of anything. I just have a reputation to uphold.”

She can tell Emma’s not buying it. She tries for the most vague way to tell some kind of truth:

“Have you seen this movie before?” Regina points to the blank screen in front of them.

“Regina, if you don’t wanna–”

“There is a point.” Regina sighs. “Please just answer the question.”

“Yes. I’ve seen it.”

“Well, the whole time I’m watching I’m thinking how ridiculous Rapunzel is. How things would be better if she just made herself smaller, just did what she was told. If she didn’t try so hard to be then she could’ve saved herself and her mother a lot of heartache. Don’t you think?”

Emma shrugs. “I guess.”

“So, imagine my surprise when I hear the children and even the adults in the audience talk about how evil Gothel was. Now, as we both know, I’m quite intelligent and understand most things easily.“ 

(Emma rolls her eyes but Regina ignores it.)

"I’ve been sitting here thinking that if I stay long enough, I could see the movie from their point of view, even though they’re clearly wrong. I wasn’t going to leave until it became clear. I have to be right. I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out how they came to that conclusion. I couldn’t see it. And it makes me upset that they could be right and I could be wrong. I still can’t see it.”

Emma knows that can’t be the whole truth, so she waits.

And waits.

And waits.

“It’s strange isn’t it? Loving someone and being terrified of them. I never thought love was something you had to try to escape.”

“I could be wrong, but that’s not how love is supposed to be.”

“You’re right, Swan: you’re wrong.”

“What the fuck, I was just answering your–” She stops when she notices Regina’s bottom lip quiver.

“You’re wrong. And those kids were wrong. And their parents were wrong. Gothel loved Rapunzel and she was just doing what was best for her.” She seems like she’s talking to herself more than Emma. “You’re wrong. You’re all wrong and I’m right. She loved her. She loved her. She did.

She loved her like my mother loves me.”

Emma’s chest gets a bit tight when she realizes why Regina was hoping no one would see her tonight.

She sits next to Regina. Places her hand on the armrest in between them. Not demanding. Inviting. If she wants it.

“Regina–”

She taps the back of her hand when she notices Regina fidgeting. Regina takes it, but it feels more desperate than anything, especially when she says:

“My mother loves me.”

She turns to look at Emma.

"Doesn’t she?”


End file.
